SCC: Automatic Racing signs Putnam and Espenlaub

shares

comments

Jan 4, 2008, 5:26 AM

Putnam and Espenlaub Sign with Automatic Racing for '08 WINTER PARK, Fla. -- Charlie Putnam and Charles Espenlaub are bringing their proven success as teammates to Automatic Racing for the 2008 season, where they will co-drive a BMW M3 in the ...

Putnam and Espenlaub Sign with Automatic Racing for '08

WINTER PARK, Fla. -- Charlie Putnam and Charles Espenlaub are bringing their proven success as teammates to Automatic Racing for the 2008 season, where they will co-drive a BMW M3 in the KONI Challenge Series.

The team announced the addition of Putnam and Espenlaub the week before Test Days begin at Daytona International Speedway. The weekend of testing will mark the drivers' debut with Automatic Racing.

Putnam got his racing career started in the Panoz Pro Series, where he met Espenlaub. The two teamed up to do endurance races, winning three 12-hour events in Miatas, before moving on to World Challenge competition. In addition to their two and a half years in World Challenge, Putnam and Espenlaub have also competed in several KONI Challenge events. This year with Automatic Racing will mark their first championship effort in the series.

A reputation as a solid driving team with consistently good performance brought Putnam and Espenlaub to the attention of Automatic Racing. "We're really happy to welcome both Charlie and Charles to the team," remarked team owner Jep Thornton. "Charles has a wealth of experience, and Charlie has proven his talents in World Challenge. Now we'll have another car that will be a podium contender every weekend."

"We heard a lot of good things about Automatic and saw the results that they were getting," said Putnam. "We knew some people on the team who spoke very highly of the whole team. They have a really good name -- not just for winning, but for being good people. We're looking forward to adding our chemistry as co-drivers to that combination."

Test Days at Daytona get underway on January 4. The first KONI Challenge race of the season will be on Friday, January 25, marking Automatic Racing's defense of their 2007 team and driver championships. That same weekend will feature the team's debut in the Rolex Series as the Automatic Racing BMW M6 takes the green flag for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.